America is in the midst of a teen mental health crisis, according to official data that suggests a staggering number of children are having suicidal thoughts.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 10.2 percent of US high school students in 2021 reported having attempted suicide in the past 12 months, up from about 8 percent in 2019
The CDC also found that 30 percent of high school students reported having poor mental health “most of the time.” For girls, the number was even higher: 40 percent.
The survey also found that one in three high school students is a drug user, with one in six regularly using marijuana, one in four drinking alcohol and one in six using opioids.
Meanwhile, the report found that nearly one in 30 college students regularly carry a gun — at a time when school shootings are on the rise and guns are now the leading killer of American children.
The CDC found that one in 10 American students will attempt suicide by 2021, up from 8.9 percent the year before. Women were the hardest hit: 13.3 percent attempted suicide that year
Nearly a third of all American high school students report poor mental health. This is because some of the country’s leaders say the country is going through a youth crisis. Women suffered the most, with 40 percent reporting poor mental health that year
The state of the nation’s youth mental health crisis was revealed in the CDC’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance.
The data was collected at the height of the Covid pandemic, which the CDC says may have skewed the results.
Lockdowns, school closings and the fear of the virus have caused mental crises and an increase in depression and anxiety in many teenagers.
The researchers also found a marked increase in children reporting mental health problems, particularly among lesbian, gay and bisexual college students.
The nationally representative study included data from 17,232 children at 152 schools in 45 states.
teenagers were were asked anonymously about many aspects of their mental health, sexual identity, and whether they use or carry drugs Arms.
The students were asked if they had had suicidal thoughts and other serious mental symptoms in the past 12 months.
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The number of high school students who have considered suicide in the past 12 years but did not attempt it will be 22.2 percent in 2021, down from 18.8 in 2019 when the survey was last conducted.
This includes 30 percent of women in the age group, up from 24.1 percent two years earlier.
Researchers found that 29.3 percent of American high school students reported that their mental health was frequently poor in the past year, including 40.8 percent of female college students.
At the same time, a record number of children are depressed and drug use is also high.
If they have used a substance in the past 30 days, the CDC would consider them a current user.
About 30 percent of the children admitted to having recently abused a substance.
The most common was alcohol, which 22 percent of students drank.
About half of this group, or 10 percent of college students overall, had binge drinking in the past month, the CDC found.
For a man, binge drinking is defined as drinking five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion. In women there are four or more.
A single drink is considered 12 ounces of beer – the size of a standard can – or 5 ounces of wine – which is usually considered standard in a wine glass.
About 16 percent of college students currently use marijuana as the drug becomes more common in many parts of the country.
Recent studies have linked the use of the drug to poor mental health, especially among young people.
Six percent currently abuse opioids such as OxyContin and Percocet. The CDC did not ask how they got hold of the drugs, only whether they were abused.
In some cases, a teenager received a prescription from a doctor and then gave the medication to friends or used it himself in a way that was contrary to the doctor’s instructions.
However, drug abuse rates are generally declining.
Current alcohol abuse dropped 20 percent in 2019, compared to 29.2 percent for teenagers.
The number of children using marijuana over a 30-day period dropped by 27 percent from 21.7 percent in the latest study.
Nearly half of all high school students in the US have tried alcohol, while more than one in four have ever used marijuana. About one in ten have abused opiates or inhalants in their lifetime. These rates have fallen over the past year
One in 30 children regularly walks around with a gun. These students are more likely to be 18 years old and more likely to smoke marijuana, abuse prescription drugs or other drugs
These declines began in 2009, when nearly half of high school students drank.
“This report documents that the prevalence of drug use among US high school students had been declining for a decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CDC wrote.
The CDC also collected data on lifetime use of popular drugs. They found that almost half of the teenagers had ever used alcohol and one in four had used marijuana.
About one in ten have ever abused an inhalant or been prescribed an opioid.
Students were also asked if they were currently using various drugs, had ever used the drugs, or if they had engaged in risky behavior such as carrying a gun or abusing alcohol.
Researchers also found that 3.5 percent of college students regularly carry a gun. They are nearly twice as likely to be black, Hispanic, or Native American.
The disturbing data comes as scientists warn that guns are now the leading cause of death for American children, according to a shocking study by the University of Michigan last year.
Students who regularly carry guns are also more likely to abuse drugs and suffer from serious mental health problems.
Researchers found they were four times more likely to abuse drugs than their peers.
This includes a 4-fold increase in alcohol and prescription drug abuse and a 3.5-fold increase in marijuana use.
These are all new research questions. This means that although no historical data is available, researchers are now concerned enough to track down these statistics.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
